Lab assignments and discussion for the JOUR 230 students at Lehigh University.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Ali's Multimedia Project

Ali Venosa

Multimedia Project Story

504 Words

It’s 11 p.m. on a Thursday night at
Lehigh University. Some students are in the library, wishing they were
elsewhere. Some are with friends, watching a movie or playing some cards. And
of course, some are in the basements of off campus fraternity houses, drinking
cheap beer and dancing. Lehigh has garnered a reputation as a “party school,”
and it isn’t completely undeserved. Students complain that there isn’t anything
better to do than drink at night, and that both Lehigh and Bethlehem only offer
daytime entertainment. Lehigh After Dark is hoping to change that.

An initiative to provide students
with alternative nighttime activities that don’t involve alcohol, Lehigh After
Dark is shooting for variety and attendance. After coming to campus only a few
years ago, the program has had its share of challenges.

Jennifer Chow, ’14, is a graduate
student in charge of LAD’s social media accounts. She acknowledges that the
program still needs some work in certain departments, such as marketing and
dismantling a Lehigh “party school” mentality.

“There are a lot of pockets of
campus that don’t necessarily want to go out every weekend,” said Chow. “We try
to get the clubs to promote us. Get their members to get involved, then get
their friends involved, since we obviously can’t get to everyone.”

Chow said that while Lehigh After
Dark does occasionally host events, they normally find different clubs,
organizations and students on campus to host the events. One of these events was
a swing dancing club dance lesson, and different students head trivia every
week.

Sam Zuckergood, ’16, hosted a
trivia night during the fall semester. “I only did it because it was
mandatory,” she said, referring to her duties as a Griffon. “Not a lot of
people came.”

Whether this is a result of poor
marketing or lack of student interest is up for debate.

“There’s a stigma against Lehigh
After Dark,” said Chow. “Lehigh is kind of known for other activities on the
weekend, but you don’t have to go out every Thursday, Friday, Saturday night.”

Christina Okoye, the graduate
assistant of residence life at Lehigh, believes it is more of a promotion issue
than a lack of interest.

“I think last year it was a lot more successful in terms of
marketing events and promoting Lehigh After Dark,” she said. “This year has
been a little bit tougher. It’s a relatively new committee that has been
involved with Lehigh After Dark, so organization has been a little on the shaky
side.”

Zuckergood feels that even though
the aim of LAD is to provide options for students who do not wish to drink on
the weekends, it may have ended up driving many students away because of that.

“It excludes students who do want to consume alcohol from the on
campus events,” she said.

Though attitudes such as this
remain popular on campus, Chow is confident in Lehigh After Dark’s potential.